Musical instrument



Feb. 18, 1930. p, PATTERSON 11,747,733

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed May 21, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVEfiTOR 4 WWW 5 15i Z BY mwwm ATTORNEY Feb. 18, 1930. F. P. PATTERSON MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed May 21, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet ATTORNEY Feb. 18,1930. R PATTERSON 1,747,733

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed May 21, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 BY 5? WMCA ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 18, 1930 UNITED STATES FRANKLIN IE. PATTERSON, OF GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT,

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Application filed May 21,

This invention relates to a musical instrument.

Musicians who are pianists or organists frequently desire to play other instruments as well and at present this is impossible without the arduous task of studying the instrument that the musician wishes to play. Again it may be desirable to play an instrument which gives the effect of two or more musi- 1 cal instruments.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a musical instrument wherein the tones of any orchestral instrument can be emitted at the pleasure of the operator.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an instrument wherein the exact tones or various tone colors of the orchestral instruments may be reproduced giving the effect of an orchestra.

A further object of this invention isto provide an instrument which can be more cheaply constructed than an organ and which will give a more exact simulation of orchestral music.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a broken front view in elevation of a device embodying the principles of my invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view along the line 2, 2, of Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a detailed viewof the disk, needle and diaphragm reproducer with the sound dampening box.

Figure 4 is a detailed view of the record disks, needle and reproducing diaphragms.

Figure 5 is a detailed view of the sustaining key mechanism.

Figure 6 is a detail end view in of the stop mechanism.

Figure 7 is a detail front view in elevation of the stop mechanism.

In carrying out my invention, I propose to provide a cabinet 1 having a keyboard 2 n with keys 2, stops 3, 3 3, 3, and pedals 4, 4. Above the keyboard 2, I provide a music rack 35.

When a key 2' is pushed down by a player the key 2' rocks on its fulcrum 34 raising shaft 5 which is pivotally connected at 8 to elevation 4 1928. Serial No. 279,310.

key 2. Shaft 5 has notches 6 cut in the side thereof, the upper edges of which normally bear against lugs 7 of strut 7. The pushing down of key 2 releases the pressure of shaft 5 on lug 7 and spring 9 forces the needle 10 into contact with the tone groove on the periphery of disk 12. Needle 10 is a component part of the usual diaphragm sound reproducer in its case 11. Disk 12 is made of hard rubber, or other suitable phonograph record material and has impressed in a groove in its periphery a single sustained note of a single instrument, as for instance, the note A of a violin, clarinet, or the human voice. Disk 12 is secured to shaft 13 in any Well known manner. Along shaft 13, spaced at the upon the periphery of which are single grooves each having impressed a single tone of the same instrument for the balance of the scale. Shaft 13 carries at one end gear 14 which meshes with gear 15 on shaft 16. A motor 17 through gearing 18 drives shaft 16 to rotate. all the disks 12 at the same speed.

As shaft 5 rises, pin 23 comes in contact with swinging lever 22 causing it to rock about its pivot 24. Lever 22 operates in slotted rod 21. As lever 22 is rocked it presses against the end of the slot of rod 21 causing rod 21 to move. The degree of movement of rod 21 is determined by the are through which lever 22 swings and this are is in turn determined by the force by which key 2 is struck.

If key 2 is struck forcibly, then pin 23 strikes lever 22 a sharp blow and, because of impact forces, lever 22 swings through a greater degree of arc and more quickly. The importance of this feature lies in the fact that lever 22 through rod 21 controls sliding cover 19 over redproducing diaphragm 11. Slotted rod 21 is connected at one end to sliding cover 19 within sound box 40 and at its other end to piston 30 within cylinder 29. The sound emitted from reproducer 11 is therefore governed by sliding cover 19. Lever 22 is maintained at its ratchet 24.

Sliding cover 19 is returned to its initial proper intervals are similar disks 12 point of maximum swing by position covering the reproducing diaphragm 11 by pneumatic means as follows As the key 2 is released shaft 5 is lowered and pin 28 comes in contact with ratchet 24 and forces it from engagement with the foot of lever 22 against the pressure of spring 27 thereby releasing lever 22 and at the same time plate 33 with ports 33 is lowered until ports 33, align with pipes 34 and permitting compressed air from compressor 28 to enter cylinder 29 behind piston 30 to actuate piston 30 and move slotted rod 21 to its initial position. lVhen piston 30 has reached the other end of cylinder 29, that is the initial position, lug 31 carried by slotted rod 21 has actuated slide valve 32 to shut off the compressed air to cylinder 29 and permit the air which has actuated piston 30 to exhaust to the atmosphere through port 32'. Port 32 remains open until piston 30 has completed its forward stroke. Such exhaustion of the air is essental to prevent back pressure the next time piston 30 is actuated forward by lever 22 through slotted rod 21. A further control of the loudness is accom lished by the opening or closing of louvers 27 at the mouth of sound boxes 40. Louvers 27 are operated'in any well known manner by pedals 41 through cords 44 and 44.

To sustain a note the usual retention of key 2 in its struck position can be done or if pedal 4 is actuated then the note will be mechanically sustained until the sustaining mechanism is released by release pedal 4'. The mechanical sustaining of a note is accomplished by the rocking of pedal 4 through cord 45 over pulleys 46 which cord 45 actuates bar 47 having free swinging rods 48 each pivotally connected to said bar 47 the foot of free swinging rod 48 when so actuated riding over and bearing upon lug 49 of key 2'. Upon releasing pedal 4 the foot of the free swinging rod or rods 48 remain bearing on lug 49 of key 2' while bar 47 assumes its initial position through the action of spring 50. To release the free swinging rod 48, release pedal 4' is rocked causing cord 51 passing over pulley 46 to actuate hammer 52 which strikes the free swinging rod 48 pushing it from lug 49 of key 2' permitting key 2 to assume its normal position. Hammer 52 is retracted by spring 53. The foregoing refers to the action respecting one key only and it should be understood that upon rocking pedal 4 that all keys 2' will be sustained that are struck after or simultaneously therewith and that all such keys 2 will be released by pedal 4' simultaneously. The keys 2' not Struck will be unaffected as the lugs 49 on the said keys 2 will not be depressed and therefore the foot of the free swinging rods 48 will not ride over and bear upon lugs 49.

I have shown four units which will permit four difierent tone ranges as, for instance, the strings from the lowest note of the bass violin to the highest note of the violin; the wood from the bassoon to the piccolo; the brass from the tuba to the trumpet, etc. Any other tone ranges may be used such as mandolin, the human voice, etc., but only instruments having sustained tone notes can be used. In the case of a banjo only tremelo notes are possible. 7

There is'only one motor 17 and one compressor 28 but there are 4 sets of disks 12 for each key 2' and the units operatedby each key. The disks 12 are replaceable in case of breakage or wearing out. Although I have shown the device adapted to four tone ranges it is obvious that byeither multiplication or subtraction of units instruments might be made that would have greater or lesser number of tone ranges. Where it is desired to sound only'over one tone range I have provided stop bar 54 which extends the entire length of the instrument for each tone range sounding unit. The stop bar 54 is hinged by pivoted links 55 to support 56 which latter is stationarily attached. When stop bar 54 is down it bears against strut 7 to prevent contact of needle 10 with disk 12 even though shaft 5 is raised. When the stop 3 is drawn the stop bar 54 is raised through a pin and slotarrangement 57 as part of an upright bar 58. At its upper end bar 58 is connected through a similar pin and slot structure 59 to a bar 60 fastened to stop 3 permitting normal operation. Thus any tone range may be used singly or several at once.

It will thus be seen that I have invented an instrument that permits any one familiar with a piano or organ to play any instrument or groups of instruments or to accompany the tones of the human voice with an instrument or groups of instruments. Although I have shown a manually operated instrument, yet its principles can be readily adapted to pneumatic or electric control for records as in the case of the automatic piano player with very little change and with remarkable results.

Although I have shown a vibrating diaphragm reproducer of the phonograph type, yet my invention is adaptable to the use of microphonic or other electrical sound reproducers.

What I claim is:

1. A musical instrument comprising a se- I ries of phonograph records having impressed thereon a single sustained note of a musical instrument, a shaft to support and rotate said records, means for rotating said shaft, a phonograph sound reproducer including a needle and diaphragm for each record, a series of piano keys, one for each phonograph record, means for actuating any of said needles to contact with its corresponding record, each of said means operable by any of said keys to actuate a predetermined number of said needles to reproduce the same tone, means actuated by said keys to sustain any of said needles in operation, means actuated by said keys to control the resonance of said sound reproducing means in accordance with the intensity with which each key is' struck, additional independent means for controlling the volume of the emitted sounds and means for releasing any of said needles from contacting with the records.

2. A manually played instrument comprising a series of phonograph records having recorded thereon a single note of a musical instrument, sound reproducing means for each record, and means for manually selectively operating each sound reproducing means and means to control the intensity of sound emitted in accordance with the manner of operation of said means for manually selectively operating the sound reproducing means.

3. A musical instrument comprising a series of phonograph records having recorded thereon a single note of a musical instrument, means for rotating said records, sound reproducing means for each record, means for selectively operating each sound reproducing means and means for sustaining the note sounded.

4. A musical instrument comprising a series of phonograph records having recorded thereon a note of a musical instrument, means for rotating said records, sound reproducing means for each record, means for selectively operating each sound reproducing means, means for sustaining the note sounded independently operated from the sound operating means and means for releasing the sustaining means.

5. A musical instrument comprising a series of phonograph records having recorded thereon a note of a musical instrument, sound reproducing means for each record, means for selectively operating said sound reproducing means, means for sustaining the note sounded, means for releasing the sustaining means, and means dependent upon the manner in which the means for operating said sound operating means was struck for controlling the loudness of the tone emitted.

6. A musical instrument comprising a series. of replaceable phonograph records, each of said records having recorded thereon a note of a musical instrument, the entire series of records constituting the entire tonal range of the instrument, sound reproducing means for each record, means for selectively operating each sound reproducing means, means for sustaining the note sounded, means for releasing the sustaining means and means for controlling the resonance of the tones emitted.

7 A musical instrument comprising a s ries of replaceable phonograph records having a note recorded thereon representing the entire tonal range of a musical instrument, said phonograph records journaled on a shaft to rotate therewith, an electric motor, a train of gears and shafting, said shafting rotated by said electric motor through said train of for sustaining the note sounded, means forreleasing the sustaining means and means for controlling the resonance of the tones emitted.

8. A musical instrument comprising rows of phonograph records, each record in each row having recorded thereon a note of a musical instrument, the records of each row comprising the entire tonal range of a single musical instrument and the records of every other row comprising the entire tonal range of a different musical instrument, means for rotating said records, sound reproducing means for each record in each row, means for selectively operating each sound reproducing means, means for sustaining the tones sounded, means for releasing the sustaining means and means for controlling the resonance of the tones emitted.

9. A musical instrument comprising a series of phonograph records having recorded thereon a single note of a musical instrument, means for rotating said disks, sound reproducing means for each record, means for selectively operating each sound reproducing means consisting of a key, a key lever, a shaft pivotally connected to said key lever, a spring, a swinging strut, said sound reproducing means carried by said strut, said shaft normally maintaining said swinging strut against the pressure of the spring to prevent sound reproduction.

10. A musical instrument comprisingrows of phonograph records, each record in each row having recorded thereon a tone of a musical instrument, the records of each row comprising the entire tonal range of a single musical instrument and the records of every other row comprising the entire tonal range of a different musical instrument, means for rotating said records, sound reproducing means for each record in each row, means for concurrently operating the sound reproducing means for each tone, means for selectively preventing the operation of any of said sound reproducing means, means for sustaining the tones sounded, means for releasing the sustaining means and means for selectively preventing the operation of the sound reproducing means for any tonal range.

11. A musical instrument comprising a container, a series of keys forming a keyboard, a series of phonograph records within said container, a single tone of a musical instrument recorded on said records, means for rotating said records within said container, sound reproducing means for each record, sounding boxes for said reproducing means, louvres in the front of said sounding box, pedals, cords connected to said louvres and to said pedals, one of said pedals opening said louvres and the other of said pedals closing said louvres, means for selectively operating each sound reproducing means, means for sustaining the note sounded and stops operating means to prevent predetermined groups of the sound reproducing means from emitting sound.

12. In a musical instrument, a key, a pivoted key lever for said key, a lug carried by said key lever, a pivoted lever, a free swinging rod pivotally connected to said lever, a cord to actuate said pivoted lever to swing said swinging rod to rest upon said lug to prevent the rising of said key lever, a pedal to actuate said cord, a release pedal, a cord connected to said pedal and to a release hammer, a release hammer pivotally supported, tostrikesaid swinging rod and remove it from said lug.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 26th day of April, A. D. 1928.

FRANKLIN P. PATTERSON. 

